Those who sell frags online Please Read!

[wickedfrags]

I have read a lot about this, and while I think most people acknowledge it is possible, many regular shippers feel the losses are generally higher than when shipped with water. One of the australia shipments we received, some of the pieces were shipped "damp" and the survival rate was not as high as those shipped in water where there were essentially no losses. You still need to ship overnight, express, so you may only be looking at $30 difference (does not even buy you a piece of liverock!)

Originally Posted by marie

I have a question for the vendors on here, has dry shipping been looked into? It would seem to make sense money wise because your not shipping water.
I have sent monti frags and a few acros to Anthony that were dry shipped and they survived (sometimes they didn't but I think that could be blamed on lousy heat packs, cold weather and lousy couriers )

http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic48...t=Dry+shipping

While I have never shipped multiple corals in the same bag (excluding ricordia florida) I could see how someone would do this with zoas if the shiping container was tight on space. Zoas generally don't mind touching and should not get that stressed. That being said, sandwich bags and a non-insulated box does not show much of a commitment on behalf of the seller, so they may not have been thinking this when they shipped.

Originally Posted by Borderjumper

I too have bought hundreds and hundreds of dollars of frags online. A vender I USED to buy from would ship 3-5 MOUNTED frags together in ONE bag. Well by the time they beat each other up during the shipment there wasnt much tissue left.

The last bunch of online frags I bought came packed in sandwhich bags.. in a plain cardboard box.. not even lined with stryofoam.. and this too was a replacement shipment.

I really dont mind spending good money for nice frags.. but I do expect some care and thought in how they are packed. Its a HUGE dissapointment to look forward to your new corals.. and then the UPS man calls you and says umm I have a box for you.. but its kinda wet.

My last shipments I didnt even bother to try and get the deads replaced.. It wasnt worth it IMO to have to go thru this over and over.

Neither of these shipments were from the sponsors who have replied above my post

[mildcustom2]

Originally Posted by reef_raf

Let's try to keep store names out of the thread, this is more a theoretical discussion. Thanks.

I hate to turn this into an ethics debate but I believe that people should be allowed to mention vendors names when discusing bad or good experiences as long as it is not derogatory in any way. Canreef is an information sharing bulletin board and has a responsibility to support vendors that practice good reef keeping ethics. If people aren't kept informed as to who practices good ethics then the bad vendors get to stay in business praying on the innocent reefers out there and the good vendors don't get the credit they deserve.

Pop

There goes the can of worms opening

[Jason McK]

Originally Posted by mildcustom2

I hate to turn this into an ethics debate but I believe that people should be allowed to mention vendors names when discusing bad or good experiences as long as it is not derogatory in any way. Canreef is an information sharing bulletin board and has a responsibility to support vendors that practice good reef keeping ethics. If people aren't kept informed as to who practices good ethics then the bad vendors get to stay in business praying on the innocent reefers out there and the good vendors don't get the credit they deserve.

Pop

There goes the can of worms opening

Please don't that is not what this is about.

This thread is about talking to the people who supply us with some of the most unique corals we have seen in Canada Ever. Not to bash or slam them

I think their support is very important, other wise we loose the ability to get anything beyond xenia and button polyps

If this thread is heading into a Bash fest I will ask it to be closed

Jason

[mildcustom2]

Please don't that is not what this is about.

This thread is about talking to the people who supply us with some of the most unique corals we have seen in Canada Ever. Not to bash or slam them

I think their support is very important, other wise we loose the ability to get anything beyond xenia and button polyps

If this thread is heading into a Bash fest I will ask it to be closed

Jason

This isn't about bashing its about making sure that no one else deals with the same person you did and has their money taken from them. I like to hear about good experiences so that I can support that vendor so they continue to support the hobby in a positive way.

Its only bashing if its exagerated or not true.

Thanx

Sean

[Matt]

I second the vote for shippers to experiment with dry shipping. Following Calfo's advice, it seems a safer (though less 'comfortable') alternative. Has anyone here experimented?

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-11/eb/index.php

[Myka]

As far as dry shipping goes...would it be beneficial or detrimental to ship with just enough water to cover the frag? I always ship with lots of water and use styrofoam on anything I can attach to it like Candy Cane, Duncan, Euphyllias, etc. Not gonna work for the Brains though...

[Jason McK]

Originally Posted by mildcustom2

This isn't about bashing its about making sure that no one else deals with the same person you did and has their money taken from them. I like to hear about good experiences so that I can support that vendor so they continue to support the hobby in a positive way.

Its only bashing if its exagerated or not true.

Thanx

Sean

unfortunately that is not how it usually works out. I feel a better Idea is to try work with our vendors that work against them.

Speaking in general terms benefits everyone. People learn what is to be expected and our Vendors learn what is necessary to keep our business.
Dozens of times this issue has come up on Canreef. Please do not end this discussion with further posts on vendor reviews
Thank you
Jason

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Myka

As far as dry shipping goes...would it be beneficial or detrimental to ship with just enough water to cover the frag? I always ship with lots of water and use styrofoam on anything I can attach to it like Candy Cane, Duncan, Euphyllias, etc. Not gonna work for the Brains though...

Calfo says damp paper towels or kelp-type seaweed... it's counter-intuitive to my mind, but his explanation makes sense, I guess. I've never tried it.

[marie]

Originally Posted by Myka

As far as dry shipping goes...would it be beneficial or detrimental to ship with just enough water to cover the frag? I always ship with lots of water and use styrofoam on anything I can attach to it like Candy Cane, Duncan, Euphyllias, etc. Not gonna work for the Brains though...

I believe the theory is (and I could be wrong) that when a coral is packed in water there is a build of of waste and coral slime which can pollute the water.
So if your going to pack in water, more water is better.
I have sent montiporas (which can slime up really bad) wrapped in papertowel and sealed in bag plastic with no ill effect and that was 20hrs in transit

[Snappy]

I appreciate the suggestion of dry shipping but as a vendor I offer a guarantee so I can only ship with a proven method that I feel comfortable with to make such a guarantee. I don't think many of the more sensitive acros would be in very good shape when reaching their destination with the dry shipping, especially if there is a delay by the shipping company. That said if someone wants to pay for the shipping I will send them a couple of sps frags free as an experiment.